There are two distinctly different ways of becoming a member of the Premier League 100 Club, the elite group of attacking talent that have scored a century of goals in the English top-flight.

You could go down the Alan Shearer or Harry Kane route, blasting in goals left, right and centre, season after season. Before your career has even reached its halfway point, you’re among some very select company. 

Alternatively, there is the steadier approach undertaken by Peter Crouch, Dion Dublin and Darren Bent. These highly-respected strikers were no less consistent, just not so prolific, plundering ten or 15 per year until the magic mark was reached.

However long it took each player to get to a ton, all of the 34 members of the 100 Club can legitimately claim to be specialists at their craft, with a career tally to prove it.

They could alter the sports betting with a half-chance. They struck fear into goalkeepers when in sight of goal. They were hit-men of the highest renown.

Players with 100 Premier League Goals

The Premier League has been roamed by some of the most lethal poachers in modern football and it’s no surprise to see some extremely familiar names included on the list below. 

Just as interesting though, are the names who ultimately fell short of joining this exclusive clique. 

Ruud Van Nistelrooy slotted home 95 Premier League goals. Kevin Phillips and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ended up on 92 and 91 respectively.

Denis Bergkamp, for all his sumptuous football, closed on 87.

Then there are the strikers who feel nailed-on to join the club before retiring.

Marcus Rashford has every chance of being inducted, the Manchester United flyer just a couple of goal-scoring bursts away.

Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus meanwhile has some work to do but if the Gunners continue to be short-priced in the Premier League odds for the next few seasons, he’ll get there for sure.

But enough with the speculation, it’s time to celebrate the 34 centurions in all their glory.

• Alan Shearer – 260

• Harry Kane – 213 

• Wayne Rooney - 208

• Andrew Cole - 187

• Sergio Aguero – 180

• Frank Lampard - 177

• Thierry Henry – 175

• Robbie Fowler – 163

• Jermain Defoe – 162

• Mohamed Salah - 155

• Michael Owen – 150

• Les Ferdinand – 149

• Teddy Sheringham – 146

• Robin van Persie – 144

• Jamie Vardy - 128

• Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - 127

• Robbie Keane - 126

• Nicolas Anelka – 125

• Dwight Yorke - 123

• Romelu Lukaku – 121

• Raheem Sterling – 121 

• Steven Gerrard – 120

• Son Heung-Min - 118

• Ian Wright – 113

• Dion Dublin – 111

• Sadio Mane - 111

• Emile Heskey - 110

• Ryan Giggs - 109

• Peter Crouch - 108

• Paul Scholes - 107

• Darren Bent - 106

• Didier Drogba - 104

• Cristiano Ronaldo - 100

• Matt Le Tissier - 100

Fastest Player To 100 Premier League Goals

As of April 2024, Alan Shearer holds the record for reaching 100 Premier League goals in the fewest number of matches.

The Newcastle legend needed just 121 games in England’s elite league to hit the century mark while Harry Kane notched his 100th goal on his 141st Premier League outing.

Son Heung-min is the latest player to join the Premier League 100 Club, the Spurs attacker needing 260 top-flight appearances to reach the illustrious mark.

Here we look at how many league games it took for each player in this exclusive club to reach 100 goals.

• Alan Shearer - 121 games

• Harry Kane - 141 games

• Sergio Aguero - 147 games

• Thierry Henry - 160 games

• Mohamed Salah - 162 games

• Ian Wright - 173 games

• Robbie Fowler - 175 games

• Les Ferdinand - 178 games

• Andy Cole - 185 games

• Michael Owen - 185 games

• Robin Van Persie - 197 games

• Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - 200 games

• Jamie Vardy - 206 games

• Romelu Lukaku - 216 games

• Didier Drogba - 220 games

• Darren Bent - 226 games

• Wayne Rooney - 247 games

• Teddy Sheringham - 254 games

• Dwight Yorke - 254 games

• Robbie Keane - 255 games

• Nicolas Anelka - 258 games

• Son Heung-min – 260 games 

• Matthew Le Tissier - 266 games

• Dion Dublin - 271 games

• Jermaine Defoe - 303 games

• Frank Lampard - 406 games

• Emile Heskey - 414 games

• Peter Crouch - 419 games

• Paul Scholes - 436 games

• Steven Gerrard - 449 games

• Ryan Giggs - 534 games

Centurions By Premier League Club:

Given their scant number of league titles it’s quite surprising that Liverpool have been blessed with four forwards who have all notched one hundred in red.

Alan Shearer meanwhile is the only player to reach a century with two different clubs.  

• Liverpool – 4 players

• Manchester United – 4 players

• Tottenham – 3 players

• Arsenal – 2 players 

• Chelsea – 2 players

• Manchester City – 1 player

• Blackburn – 1 player

• Leicester – 1 player

• Southampton – 1 player

• Newcastle – 1 player 

Premier League 100 Club by Country:

England’s complete domination in this field does raise an eyebrow or two, but perhaps it shouldn’t.

Until the late-Nineties, Premier League sides were mainly made up of domestic fare and when exporting talent became commonplace players arrived from far and wide. 

It means that only France (Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry) and the Netherlands (Robin van Persie and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink) are represented by more than one player.

In recently reaching his ton, Son Heung-min became the first Asian player to join this select group. 

• England – 19

• France – 2

• The Netherlands – 2

• Argentina – 1

• Republic of Ireland – 1 

• Ivory Coast – 1

• Egypt – 1

• Wales – 1

• Belgium – 1

• South Korea - 1

• Trinidad & Tobago – 1

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Jon Super, File / AP Photo*

We're just a matter of days away from the 2024 Grand National at Aintree and our writer has produced this pinsticker's guide for punters looking at the horse racing betting for this weekend.

Grand National Tips By Day

• Aintree Tips For Thursday
• Aintree Tips For Friday
• Aintree Tips For Saturday

So, without further ado it is time to get down to it - check out Steve Mullington's take on the projected runners at Aintree for the 2024 Grand National.

Grand National Pinsticker's Guide For 2024

CONFLATED

Hinted at a return to form in the Ryanair but has never raced over a marathon distance like this.

NOBLE YEATS

Landed the race in 2022 as a 50/1 shot and finished fourth last year. He looks good for the frame once again.

NASSALAM 

Won the Welsh National by a country mile and will be of interest if the going becomes really testing.

COKO BEACH

Second in this year’s Becher and very consistent all season long. Another who can make the frame.

CAPODANNO 

Pulled up in last year’s renewal and will need to put that ghost to bed quickly.

I AM MAXIMUS

Winner of the Bobbyjo Chase which has often been a bellwether marker for the National itself. 

MINELLA INDO

Gold Cup scorer in 2021 and to be honest looks well overpriced at 20/1 for a class horse.

CORACH RAMBLER

Attempting back-to-back victories and he won’t be giving up his title without a brave fight.

JANIDIL

Soundly beaten in the Stayers’ Hurdle and is unproven at this trip.

STATTLER 

Doesn’t mind an extreme trip like this and could well be the Mullins dark horse in this.

MAHLER MISSION

Second in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and is bred to stay. A dangerous sleeper.

DELTA WORK

Veteran performer who plies his trade mainly over the cross-country courses these days.

FOXY JACKS

Excels on the cross-country scene and you should never underestimate a Mouse Morris-trained runner.

GALVIN

Quietly fancied to give Davy Russell a fairytale send off in last year’s race but fell at the first. This year will be different.

FAROUK D'ALENE

Has never raced beyond three miles and looks well out of his depth in this.

ELDORADO ALLEN

A class horse in his time and didn’t finish that far away in the Coral Gold Cup.

FURY ROAD

Fell in last year’s race and has been totally out of sorts since. More Melling Road than Fury.

AIN’T THAT A SHAME

Won the Thyestes Chase back in January and was snapped up by David Maxwell as his Grand National ride. Will get around in his own time.

VANILLIER 

Runner-up in the race last season and has had the ideal preparation to go one better this time.

MR INCREDIBLE

Second in the Midlands Grand National a month ago and looks sure to be involved in the finish.

RUN WILD FRED

Hasn’t won a race now since November 2021 and has more letters to his name than numbers this season.

LATENIGHTPASS

Took the 2022 Aintree Foxhunters’ in fine style then finished fourth in it last year. Definitely enjoys the fences. 

MINELLA CROONER

Beaten 25 lengths by I Am Maximus in the Bobbyjo kind of tells you his chances.

ADAMANTLY CHOSEN

Won by a healthy margin at Down Royal last time but probably isn’t good enough for this test.

MAC TOTTIE

Successful in the 2022 Topham Chase and could easily outrun his odds at a track where he thrives.

CHEMICAL ENERGY

Runner-up in the 2023 National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham and has guaranteed stamina.

LIMERICK LACE

Seven-year-old mare who scored at the Festival but that 1951 record is still proving to be a monkey on the back.

MEETINGOFTHEWATERS

Has won and placed in some useful races of late but is the youngster’s stamina assured?

THE GOFFER 

Ran into a place in last season’s Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown and spring may well be his time of year.

ROI MAGE

Owned by the same people who enjoyed National success with Aurora’s Encore, this veteran will love the going and is an interesting outsider.

GLENGOULY 

Second in this year’s Thyestes but there’s isn’t a lot more to recommend him with.

GALIA DES LITEAUX

The eight-year-old mare finished second in the Warwick Chase and Dan Skelton is having a wonderful season.

PANDA BOY

Martin Brassil sent out Numbersixvalverde to capture the 2006 running of the National and his current horse has been the subject of sustained money in recent weeks.

Grand National Trends (last 10 years):

• Age: 8 of the last 10 winners were aged between 9 and 11.

• Price: 2 of the last 10 favourites have won. 3 of the last 10 winners have come from the top 3 horses in the Grand National odds.

• Last Run: 3 of the last 10 winners won on their last run before the Grand National with 3/10 placing on their last run. 9/10 winners ran within the last 35 days. 5/10 winners ran at the Cheltenham Festival on their last run.

• Weights: 9/10 winners carried a weight of between 10st 6lbs and 11st 6lbs to victory.

• Previous Aintree Form: 10/10 winners had at least one previous run at Aintree. 4/10 winners had at least one previous win at the track.

• Previous Distance Form: 10/10 winners had at least one win over 3 miles or longer.

• Previous Chase Form: 10/10 winners had at least 3 Chase wins, with 8/10 having at least 4 Chase wins to their name.

• Rating: 9 of the last 10 winners were rated between 148-160.

• Graded Win: 6/10 winners had at least one previous win in a Graded race.

• Season Form: 7/10 winners had at least four runs that season already.

Grand National Winners:

Did you know that certain letters of the alphabet are much luckier than others when it comes to picking out Grand National winners at Aintree racecourse?

Of course there’s absolutely no science to it, but horses that have started with the letter “R” have won the world’s  greatest steeplechase at total of 21 times since 1839.

Aintree legend Red Rum clocked up three victories for Team R, while the likes of Rule The World and Red Marauder have been two of the more recent winners.

Six winners adrift from the leader is the letter “M” on fifteen victories, with the most recognisable names to those with short-term memories being Many Clouds in 2015, 100-1 surprise scorer Mon Mome in 2009 and Monty's Pass in 2003.

The letter “S” brings up the third spot, providing punters with 14 winners over the years including Silver Birch in 2007 and Seagram in 1991.

The full list of letters and their respective number of Grand National winners is as follows:

R (21) M (15) S (14) A (13) T (13) C (11) G (9) L (9) P (9) E (8) B (7) W (7) D (6) F (6) J (6) H (4) N (4) K (3) O (3) V (2) I (1) Q (1) Z (1) U (0) X (0) Y (0).

Grand National Trainers:

Let’s take a look through the current crop of trainers from the UK and Ireland and their respective records in the Aintree marathon.

Some have enjoyed success under Grand National sponsors while others are still waiting for their first win in the race.

Gordon Elliott (3 wins)

Elliott’s first win in the race came in 2007 when Silver Birch won under Robbie Power. He then had an eleven year wait before Tiger Roll took top honours in 2018, then again in 2019.

Anything the Cullentra stable sends over to Merseyside to compete in the race has to be considered and invariably at least one of Elliott’s runners goes well.

Nigel Twiston-Davies (2 wins)

With wins in 1998 with Earth Summit and 2002 with Binderee, Twiston-Davies is a formidable trainer when it comes to preparing horses for these unique Aintree fences.

If anything Twiston-Davies is well overdue another success, so keep your eyes peeled as to what he saddles.

Willie Mullins (1 win)

For a massively successful operation, it’s really surprising that Mullin’s sole Grand National winner to date was Hedgehunter in 2005.

He’s been knocking on the door several times since and you certainly cannot underestimate anything he enters.

Paul Nicholls (1 win)

Nicholls finally registered his first win in the National with Neptune Collonges in 2012, but has mainly had mixed fortunes with the rest of his runners over the years.

Again, for a big stable, punters would have expected more from the Ditcheat maestro but the cookie hasn’t always crumbled for him.

Nicky Henderson (0 wins)

It still beggars belief that one of the most successful National Hunt trainers of all time still does not have the Grand National on his illustrious CV.

Henderson’s first runner in the Grand National came in 1979 with a horse called Zongalero, which ironically finished the runner-up and that has been the closest he has ever come to landing the race.

Grand National Jockeys:

• George Stevens is the most successful jockey in Grand National history with five wins. His final triumph came in 1870.

• Bruce Hobbs is the youngest jockey to have won the race. The 17-year-old was victorious aboard Battleship in 1938. The oldest jockey was Dick Saunders who won aged 48, riding Grittar.

• The first female jockey to compete in the Grand National was Charlotte Brew in 1977, riding Barony Fort at 200-1.

• Since then 16 female jockeys have had mounts in the race, with Katie Walsh being the most successful this far when she came third in 2012 aboard Seabass.

• Of the current crop of female jockeys, Ireland’s Rachael Blackmore looks the most likely candidate to be the first female winner of the Grand National.

• The 2009 winning trainer, Venetia Williams, also rode in the race. She fell at Becher’s Brook on the first circuit when riding 200-1 chance Marcolo in 1988.

*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*

Ireland has been a dominant force on the world's racing stage for many years now and has a very rich heritage of breeding, horse racing betting and success at the highest level.

In fact the Irish are rather privileged when it comes to horse racing with 26 racecourses on the Emerald Isle, which works out more per head of population than any other country on the globe.

List Of Irish Racecourses:

• Ballinrobe

• Bellewstown

• Clonmel

• Cork

• Curragh

• Down Royal

• Downpatrick

• Dundalk

• Fairyhouse

• Galway

• Gowran Park

• Kilbeggan

• Killarney

• Laytown

• Leopardstown

• Limerick

• Listowel

• Naas

• Navan

• Punchestown

• Roscommon

• Sligo

• Thurles

• Tipperary

• Tramore

• Wexford

With close to 360 meetings held annually and around 2,000 races taking place, you are never short of an Irish racecourse to either visit or have a bet on.

Irish racecourses are visited by over 1.3m people every year and their races are broadcast all over the world, thus creating quite a large fan base.

Let’s take an alphabetical trip around the island of Ireland and get a flavour of what you can expect to see at each of the 26 tracks:

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*

• England’s best ever female footballers have close to a thousand caps to their names

• Three of our heroines of the beautiful game helped grow women’s football in its infancy

• Three of the top four greatest English players of all-time are Arsenal legends

As women’s football continues to grow in stature and popularity perhaps it’s high time we celebrated the greatest English players who have done more than most to make the sport a modern-day phenomenon.

10) Sheila Parker

There may be more than nine players – particularly from the modern game – with greater ability than the centre-back but very few can surpass Parker’s immense influence on the sport, as it strode into an era of professionalism.

England’s first ever captain won six Division One titles with two different clubs, but she is chiefly recalled for leading little Fodens – formerly a works team from Sandbach - to an extraordinary Women’s FA Cup triumph in 1974 over much-fancied Southampton. Truly, it was an upset of upsets.

Inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2013, her lifelong dedication to the sport moved it several steps forward. Parker was recognised by the FA as one of the country's 'legacy players' in 2022. 

9) Rachel Yankey

An impactful attacker with a blistering turn of pace, Yankey represented her country 129 times and was a pivotal figure in Team GB’s Olympic quest in 2012.

Across 15 years and two different spells with Arsenal Ladies, the proud Londoner won six Premier League titles and averaged a goal every three games.

Successful seasons were also enjoyed with Fulham and the New Jersey Wildcats.

Always exciting to watch and always willing to take on her opposite number, one of the surest football bets was that the full-back would be beaten, trailing in the wake of the flying winger.

8) Steph Houghton

Current captain of Manchester City and former England skipper, Houghton is widely admired for her leadership qualities and defensive acumen, while off the pitch she is one of the most popular figures in women’s football.

In 2014, she became the first female footballer to grace the cover of Shoot magazine, and such is her heightened status from making 121 appearances for her country the classy centre-back can lay claim to being a household name.

All of this, while playing for the richest club in the world, has ensured that the North-East star is among the highest paid female footballers in the UK. In March 2024, Houghton announced her plans to retire from football at the end of the 2023-24 season.

7) Carol Thomas

In 2021, Thomas was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, an honour that felt long-overdue for a winger-turned-defender who did more than anyone in pushing the women’s game forward.

At the age of just 21, the Hull-born star was handed the England captaincy, a position she remarkably held for over 26 years, as the Lionesses reached seven consecutive international tournaments, with Thomas playing in every game.

She is one of only four players to captain England to a major final, the others being Sir Bobby Moore, Faye White and Harry Kane.

Off the pitch, the keen hill-walker – who in retirement has trekked across the Andes and Himalayas – was a true pioneer, promoting womens’ football when it was a little-known entity.

6) Gillian Coultard

Before the sport turned professional, Coultard would work long hours on a production line in a Castleford factory then turn out for Doncaster Belles each weekend, a superstar of the fledging game.

Considered by former England boss Hope Powell to be a ‘genuinely world class player’ the highly respected box-to-box midfielder was the first female to reach the landmark of 100 caps for England, at a time in the late-nineties when the feat was rare and exceptional.

Indeed, the only other players to do this back then were Billy Wright, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton. That’s fine company to be in for sure.

5) Jill Scott

Straight-of-back and patrolling every square inch of the pitch, the midfielder nicknamed ‘Crouchy’ by her team-mates for her tall frame has lifted a trio of League Cups and FA Cups apiece with Manchester City while scoring 27 goals in an incredible 161 appearances for England.

A competitive long-distance runner in her youth, Scott used her stamina to good effect for Everton before switching to the ‘mini-Etihad’ in 2014 whereupon her levels and reputation rose even higher.

She has unquestionably been one of the finest all-action talents in women’s football this past decade.

4) Casey Stoney

In May 2021, Stoney surprisingly stepped down as Manchester United manager, taking her coaching credentials to San Diego on America’s west coast.

It was as a player however, where the Basildon-born defender really made her name, a stalwart of the Arsenal side from the turn of the Millenium that has to go down as one of the best women’s football teams in recent times.

With the Gunners, Stoney won back-to-back Premier League National Division titles, surrounded by half of the England set-up.

Away from the action, the former national skipper received overwhelming support in 2014 when she publicly came out. Stoney and her long-term partner have three children, the eldest twins.

3) Marieanne Spacey

The attacking midfielder was a generational talent who helped bring silverware in abundance to Arsenal and Fulham Ladies throughout the Nineties and early 2000s.

Spells in Italy and Finland broadened her repertoire of skills, all of which greatly aided England as they embarked on their first World Cup campaign in 1995. Naturally, Spacey ran the show and scored in the opening game.

Her propensity to fire home long-range efforts may have Spacey forever pegged as a spectacular player and she undoubtedly was that.

But really, her most substantial gift was her footballing intelligence which made everything she did appear off-the-cuff and natural.

2) Fara Williams

Williams was just 17 when she won her first England cap. An astounding 176 subsequent appearances followed for her country.

This incredible haul doesn’t solely explain why the midfielder is regarded as a bona fide legend of women’s football, a player widely known as ‘Queen Fara’.

Nor do the league titles with Liverpool, or the two International Player of the Year awards in her medal’s drawer. Not even her sublime touch and unerring vision fully shines a light on why the 40-year-old is so hugely respected.

It's because when the likeable Londoner was 17, and gaining international recognition, she was homeless, and remained so for six years.

To overcome such obstacles and reach the very top makes her story a remarkable one. Almost as remarkable as Queen Fara.

1) Kelly Smith

If the former Arsenal forward was still playing today, she would be a real favourite of those who like to partake in in play betting.

At any given moment, in any give game, Smith could produce a moment of magic, usually taking the form of a lethally struck shot – from either foot – that would have the keeper flailing.

Across three spells with the Gunners, the Watford-born hit-woman won every major trophy several times over while on the international stage her prolificacy was phenomenal, bagging 46 goals in 117 outings.

There were also successful stints in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston as England shared its finest ever talent with the world.

*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*

• The World Snooker Championship was first played in 1927

• Joe Davis is the most successful player in World Snooker Championship history with 15 titles

• Luca Brecel became snooker champion of the world for the first time in 2023

Becoming world champion is the ultimate aim for every snooker player - but who will join the list of world snooker champions in 2024?

It’s when interest in snooker betting is at its highest, and when players have an opportunity to etch their names in the history books alongside greats of the game like Ronnie O’Sullivan, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry. 

This is the event all snooker fans are waiting for. Starring in one of the best Snooker World Championship finals is a landmark in any career, such is the attention on the event. 

Diehards are locked in for the duration, of course, but casual snooker fans will tune in for the matches at the Crucible more than at any other competition. The 2023 tournament broke records for its television reach with a total audience of over 13 million.

Accumulating prize money and hardware in other events is significant in any career, but it is not an exaggeration to say the World Championship is the pinnacle.

The world rankings might be an accurate picture of the best players in the world at any moment, but being world number one is incomparable to winning a world title. Let’s learn a bit more about the Snooker World Championship…

World Snooker Championship History

The first Snooker World Championship took place in 1927. Joe Davis reigned supreme during the early years, and claimed his final title just after the Second World War, but the event disappeared for a decade not long after. 

Starting off as a 10-player event alongside a two-week long billiards match, the World Championship operated on a challenge basis in 1928, with six players battling it out for the right to take on Davis.

Across adapting formats, and often with very small fields, Davis was champion in the first 15 World Championships. His reign was ended by Walter Donaldson before Davis’ brother Fred claimed three titles in four years.

A Matchplay tournament took over in the World Championship’s place between 1952 and 1957. After a seven-year break, the World Championship was reintroduced in 1964, again on a challenge basis.

John Pulman was dominant throughout this period before the competition adopted a knockout structure in 1969 – this is regarded as the beginning of the modern era.

The first World Championship group stage featured in 1970. Two years later, Alex Higgins emerged as one of the sport’s young stars, shattering records across the board and becoming the youngest ever world champion. 

In 1973, the move was made for the World Championship to be played over an intense, two-week period opposed to the prolonged schedule they had operated to previously.

Venues rotated throughout the first part of the 1970s, with some tournaments being shared between two host cities, and others played abroad.

It was only in 1977 that the World Championship adopted a permanent home. In the second season at the Crucible, Ray Reardon won his sixth world title. By the end of the decade, a new generation of players had arrived on the scene, and 24 players competed in the 1980 edition.

Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry dominated the 1980s and 1990s respectively. The 2000s saw a changing of the guard, with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins repeatedly reaching the latter stages. O'Sullivan has been the most successful of the triumvirate, though Higgins and Williams have won four and three titles respectively. 

Mark Selby was a force throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s, while O’Sullivan continued to collect titles, including winning in 2020 and 2022. The 2023 event saw Luca Brecel become the first player from continental Europe to reach the final, which he won against Selby. 

Snooker World Championship Location

While the World Championship is synonymous with the Crucible for current snooker fans, the World Championship has actually been played at various venues.

Before adopting the Crucible as its home in 1976-77, World Championships have been held in South Africa (twice), Australia (twice) and Jersey. 

Numerous cities across the UK have hosted the tournament, too, starting out at Camkin’s Hall in Birmingham for the first two years.

Over the next four, it alternated between Nottingham and Thurston’s Hall in London before events at the Joe Davis Centre in Chesterfield and Central Hall in Kettering.

Six consecutive World Championships took place at Thurston’s Hall prior to the pause for the Second World War. 

Wythenshawe Forum held the final World Championship before its permanent move to the Crucible.

The Crucible has been the home of the World Championships since 1977. The theatre has a capacity of 980 and underwent a £15 million refurbishment between 2007 and 2009.

In 2022, plans became public for a new, 3,000-seater capacity arena attached to The Crucible to host the World Championships. Barry Hearn confirmed talks were ongoing with Sheffield Council, The architect for the new arena was also behind the design for Manchester City's Etihad Stadium.

Tickets for the World Championships sell out a long way in advance, so fans need to be aware of when the tickets first go on sale if they are hoping to attend World Championship matches at the Crucible. 

Snooker World Champions Prize Money

It is no surprise that the World Championship carries the largest prize money of any snooker event.

The total prize pool for the 2023 edition was a massive £2,395,000 with the eventual champion pocketing a cool half a million. 

The runner-up had to settle for £200,000, which is just £85,000 shy of the UK average house price in May 2023.

The two semi-finalists received £100,000, while the quarterfinalists appropriately pocketed half of that. 

A sum of £15,000 was available for the highest break across qualifying and the tournament proper.

Recording a 147 in the World Championship was worth £20,000. Two players achieved this feat, meaning they shared the prize money.

It’s not just prestige which makes the World Championships the headline event on the snooker calendar – it’s by far the biggest payday for snooker referees, too.

Just as it is the pinnacle, the same goes for referees. Being involved in the latter stages of the competition is a real opportunity for snooker referees to impress the governing body. 

Most Successful Snooker World Championship Players

Brothers Joe and Fred Davis are technically the most successful Snooker World Championship players with 15 and eight titles respectively.

Five of Fred’s titles were in the Matchplay era. Both competed before what is recognised as snooker’s ‘modern era’.

John Pulman recorded eight titles, although seven of those were through challenge matches. 

Since the competition took on its current format, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry are tied with the most titles on seven apiece. Steve Davis won six in the 1980s, which was a record until he was toppled by Hendry. O’Sullivan has been the most efficient of that triumvirate, losing just once in the final. Hendry and Davis lost two finals apiece. 

O’Sullivan is tied with Fred Davis for the most appearances with 31. The Rocket has reached the semi-final or better 13 times, which is a record in the modern era. 

England is by far the most successful country with 13 different champions and 57 overall titles.

Australia (two), Belgium (one) and Canada (one) are the only countries outside the British Isles to provide a snooker world champion.

China, New Zealand and South Africa have all contributed finalists, but are still waiting for their first champion.

Snooker World Champions List

• 1927 – Joe Davis

• 1928 - Joe Davis

• 1929 - Joe Davis

• 1930 - Joe Davis

• 1931 - Joe Davis

• 1932 - Joe Davis

• 1933 - Joe Davis

• 1934 - Joe Davis

• 1935 - Joe Davis

• 1936 - Joe Davis

• 1937 - Joe Davis

• 1938 - Joe Davis

• 1939 - Joe Davis

• 1940 - Joe Davis

• 1941-1945 – No Tournament

• 1946 – Joe Davis

• 1947 – Walter Donaldson

• 1948 – Fred Davis

• 1949 – Fred Davis

• 1950 – Walter Donaldson

• 1951 – Fred Davis

• 1952 – Horace Lindrum

• 1952 – Fred Davis

• 1953 – Fred Davis

• 1954 – Fred Davis

• 1955 – Fred Davis

• 1956 – Fred Davis

• 1957 – John Pulman

• 1958-1963 – No Tournament

• 1964 – John Pulman

• 1964 – John Pulman

• 1965 – John Pulman

• 1965 – John Pulman

• 1965 – John Pulman

• 1966 – John Pulman

• 1968 – John Pulman

• 1969 – John Spencer

• 1970 – Ray Reardon

• 1971 – John Spencer

• 1972 – Alex Higgins

• 1973 – Ray Reardon

• 1974 – Ray Reardon

• 1975 – Ray Reardon

• 1976 – Ray Reardon

• 1977 – John Spencer

• 1978 – Ray Reardon

• 1979 – Terry Griffiths

• 1980 – Cliff Thorburn

• 1981 – Steve Davis

• 1982 – Alex Higgins

• 1983 – Steve Davis

• 1984 – Steve Davis

• 1985 – Dennis Taylor

• 1986 – Joe Johnson

• 1987 – Steve Davis

• 1988 – Steve Davis

• 1989 – Steve Davis

• 1990 – Stephen Hendry

• 1991 – John Parrott 

• 1992 – Stephen Hendry

• 1993 – Stephen Hendry

• 1994 – Stephen Hendry

• 1995 – Stephen Hendry

• 1996 – Stephen Hendry

• 1997 – Ken Doherty

• 1998 – John Higgins

• 1999 – Stephen Hendry

• 2000 – Mark Williams

• 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan

• 2002 – Peter Ebdon

• 2003 – Mark Williams

• 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan

• 2005 – Shaun Murphy 

• 2006 – Graeme Dott

• 2007 – John Higgins

• 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan

• 2009 – John Higgins

• 2010 – Neil Robertson

• 2011 – John Higgins

• 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan

• 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan

• 2014 – Mark Selby

• 2015 – Stuart Bingham

• 2016 – Mark Selby

• 2017 – Mark Selby

• 2018 – Mark Williams

• 2019 – Judd Trump

• 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan

• 2021 - Mark Selby

• 2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan

• 2023 - Luca Brecel

*Credit for all of the images in this article belongs to Alamy*

• The IPL has been running for over a decade

• Taking place every year, the world’s biggest stars come together for the most glamourous of T20 tournaments

• IPL records are broken every year – which players have the most impressive numbers?

The IPL has changed cricket forever.

It swallows up more than its fair share of bets on cricket, it pits stars against each other outside of the international game, and it draws ground-shaking crowds in a way that no other domestic league can compete with.

Established stars may earn the headlines at an auction, but the IPL makes names as well as promoting all-time greats.

IPL Records - IPL Statistics:

• Batting

• Bowling

• Wicket Keeping

• Fielding

• Longevity

• Team

It is a platform to prove yourself, a place where cricketers of varying experience can challenge themselves against the best the world has to offer. Not to mention the riches that can follow with a successful IPL season or two.

For weeks every year, sports betting odds online are dominated by the IPL. It’s an intense period of multiple matches every day, building to the crescendo of the final group stage fixtures and knockout matches.

Every season there are disappointments. There will be key batsmen who can’t hit it off the square and supposedly gun bowlers who go the distance.

The standard and pressure are high. Cricket betting tips from experts will often lean to a couple of teams before the competition, but that’s no guarantee of success.

Every team has match winners, every franchise believes they struck gold in the latest auction.

From the early days of Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden extending their careers in the IPL, the competition has evolved.

Franchises have come and gone. Many of the best Indian cricketers have proved their mettle alongside established names. Former on-field icons have graduated to coaching positions or made the short journey to the commentary booth.

The IPL has played a pivotal role in the acceptance of T20 cricket. It has pushed the standards, and become the goal for every domestic cricket board.

The Big Bash, The Hundred and many others are trying to create a product as marketable, as influential, as the Indian Premier League.

It’s an impossible task, of course, to have a second domestic league which influences international cricket scheduling and has become a must-play event for the world’s best players.

There have been problems along the way, but the IPL has been a roaring success. It was a competition met with scepticism in corners of the cricketing world when the idea was first floated in the late-noughties.

To say it has flourished would be an understatement. The IPL is cricket’s most attended tournament by a distance with an average of well over 50,000 fans.

Packed stadia have rejoiced as the world’s best have shone on cricket’s glitziest stage – here are some of the IPL’s most notable records.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*

Fast approaching its centenary, La Liga has long showcased some of the greatest midfielders to ever luminate a centre-circle.

Architects and geniuses all, these elite talents had the rare ability to alter La Liga odds with a throughball only they could see, and only they could execute.

They had magic in their boots and vision gifted from a generous deity. They reminded those fortunate enough to see them in the flesh that football – when perfectly crafted - can transcend the ordinary and take us up close to awe.

Picking out twenty such outstanding practitioners of that craft was easy. Narrowing it down to a top ten of sublime midfielders was difficult in the extreme. 

10) Bernd Schuster

The Blonde Angel knew how good he was and took serious umbrage with anyone who wasn’t of the same opinion. Subsequently, his was a career strewn with fall-outs and controversies. 

Still, on his day there were few better at bossing proceedings, dictating play for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico, making it all look so easy until inevitably his relationship with another manager became strained. 

The West German international arrived in Catalunya as a young player, spending eight seasons with Barca, and picking up a La Liga title along the way. He then won consecutive La Liga crowns with Real Madrid before swapping the Bernabeu for the Vicente Calderón.

Schuster notched a trio of top three Ballon d’Or finishes while in Spain and was twice named La Liga’s best foreign player.

9) Luka Modric

The chief conductor of four Champions League triumphs for Real Madrid, Modric is a Ballon d’Or winner, two-time La Liga champion and was included in the FIFPro World XI in five straight years.

This is a player who made the greats greater, all the while knitting together passages of play, doing so with a passing range that was unsurpassed. 

The truly exceptional creators do not simply find a team-mate in space and play it to feet. They vary the angle and pace of a delivery to better facilitate what that player does next. 

In the 21st century, there has been no better example of this skill-set than the brilliant Croatian.   

8) Josep Samitier 

A pre-war giant of Spanish football, Samitier is credited with essentially inventing the box-to-box role that is so commonplace today.

He started attacks and invariably finished them, scoring a remarkable 333 goals in 454 appearances for Barcelona. Only Paulino Alcantara and Lionel Messi can better that for the Blaugrana.

A couple of seasons at Madrid CF saw out a career that spanned two decades and so highly regarded was the man who later managed Atletico and Barca, he was afforded a state funeral on passing at the age of 70 in 1972.

Rather wonderfully, he was nicknamed ‘The Surrealist’. 

7) Xabi Alonso 

It’s a safe football bet that Alonso is destined for great things as a manager, presently guiding Bayer Leverkusen to an entirely unexpected German title. 

What is interesting is that so many of the attributes on display as a coach were used to good effect as a player, first for Real Sociedad, then later for Real Madrid, with a successful spell for Liverpool in between.

Namely that comes down to class and intelligence, Alonso a master at making the right choices in possession, picking out the most impactful pass. 

In his pomp at the Bernebau it was a treat to see him run the show, unquestionably one of the finest deep-lying playmakers the game has ever produced. 

6) Pep Guardiola

Before Pep Guardiola managed Barcelona to absolute dominance and reinvented football for the better, he was integral on the field during Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team supremacy.

Guardiola was often the deepest midfielder in Cruyff’s all-conquering Barca teams, which won four league titles and the Champions League.

Without physical advantages, the future Manchester City boss relied on high-level anticipation and technical ability.

He could read the game better than anyone, snuffing out opposition attacks and picking pinpoint passes.

5) Sergio Busquets

It became cliché to say Sergio Busquets was underrated. Perhaps he isn’t any longer, but the Spanish holding midfielder was long overlooked in the brilliant Barcelona teams overseen by Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

Busquets is an eight-time La Liga winner and three-time Champions League winner.

Without crunching interventions often associated with defensive midfielders, Busquets’ interceptions, tackles and timely fouls were the safety blanket for those silverware-collecting Barca sides.

For several years running football predictions focused on who might come second to this extraordinary and extravagant Catalonian juggernaut. Busquets was an integral part of such dominance. The man at the wheel. 

4) Zinedine Zidane

It took a world record fee of €77.5m to lure the French magician to Madrid from Juventus, and though Zizou only made 155 La Liga appearances, and won a solitary title, let’s not get hung up on quantity, or lack of. 

The football that Zidane produced across four-and-a-half years in Spain was of a standard rarely witnessed.

There were tricks, flicks, and balls plucked for the sky, landing as if on a goose-feathered pillow and not on a size 11 Adidas boot. There were shimmering, mazy dribbles and nonchalant movement that made opposition players look downright silly. 

The World Cup winner was nothing but a joy and that’s before we get to his magnificent Champions League final goal. 

3) Luis Suarez

No, not that one. 

The Uruguayan’s namesake was also his superior, an elegant Ballon d’Or winner, who orchestrated two league titles from the heart of Barcelona’s midfield in the late-Fifties.

Blessed with an eye for goal – 141 from 253 outings is an incredible return for a player who often sat deep and pulled the strings – Suarez also played a key role in Spain winning an early incarnation of the Euros in 1964. 

By then he had moved to Inter for a world record transfer fee. 

2) Xavi

Xavi was an important player for Barcelona in the early years of his career, but it was under Pep Guardiola that he discovered a whole other level of excellence.

The La Masia graduate was Barcelona’s heartbeat through the late-2000s and early-2010s; he found space, he recycled possession, and kept Guardiola’s formidable machine running smoothly.

A collection of Champions League and La Liga medals is only part of Xavi’s legacy. Just as Guardiola was the successor to Johan Cruyff, Xavi’s play was the embodiment of 21st century Barcelona.

Winner of World Soccer Player of the Year in 2010 and five times included in UEFA Team of the Year, Xavi’s CV can only be rivalled by a handful of midfielders over the last three decades.

1) Andres Iniesta

Statistics cannot do Andres Iniesta justice. The Spaniard was neither a prolific goal scorer nor assister, yet he’s unquestionably one of the greatest players to ever grace a pitch.

A graduate of La Masia, Iniesta was utilised in various roles at Barcelona but his best football came as the most attacking in a midfield three, with his threaded passes and mazy dribbling leaving defences bamboozled.

Indeed, on occasion you suspected there was another Iniesta, high in the stands, controlling his alter ego. So unerring was his appreciation of where every team-mate was positioned. 

For season after season our La Liga tips backed Barca to be sensational and that was largely because of their sensational trio of Xavi, Messi and Iniesta. All diminutive. Each of them other-worldly.

We will never again see their like. Opposition players will never want to.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*

Once viewed as a position to blood youngsters, or switch across bruising centre-halves to afford them game-time, full-backs have become a pivotal part of the modern game, arguably as important as any other role.

These ten have elevated right-backing into an art-form. 

10 - Vladimir Coufal (West Ham) 

With Brighton and Southampton circling, West Ham took the plunge on Coufal in the autumn of 2020, spending £5.5m on a player in his late-twenties who had never before plied his trade outside of the Czech First League. And what an outstanding bargain he has proven to be. 

A model of consistency on the right side of the Hammers’ rearguard, Coufal’s dominance of his territory allows the likes of Bowen greater freedom to roam while seven assists so far in 2023/24 highlights the threat he poses in possession.

Solid, physical and disciplined, so many of the defender’s traits are from the old-school and that’s no bad thing. 

9 - Matty Cash (Aston Villa)

It is difficult and rare for a right-back to stand out from their peers and be awarded their club’s player of the season. Cash has earned that merit at Nottingham Forest in 2019/20 and then again two years later at Villa.

Such awards highlight the Polish international’s dynamic style of play, that has him tether wingers and cause carnage in the final third in equal measure. At times you believe there are two of him on the pitch, so great is his intensity and energy. 

Not many football predictions pre-season had Villa chasing down a top four spot. 

Perhaps what was overlooked was the elite level of Unai Emery’s management and what can ultimately be achieved with players of Cash’s calibre. 

8 - Reece James (Chelsea) 

James would be considerably higher on this list were it not for a cruel succession of injuries, the latest restricting him to a handful of cameos this term.

When he’s fit and firing though, the 23-year-old takes Chelsea to another level, dominating the right hand side from goal-line to goal-line via his athleticism, intelligence and touch.

Very few players can alter a team’s Premier League odds single-handedly, and when they do they’re typically goal-scorers.

A truism of recent seasons however is that when James and Ben Chilwell are both available, back the Blues. When they’re not, be sceptical. 

7 - Kenny Tete (Fulham) 

Since swapping Champions League football with Lyon for picturesque Craven Cottage, the Dutch defender has made 65 league appearances. In that time maybe three wingers have got the better of him.

Tenacious, technically sound, and full of adventure when in possession, the 27-year-old has quietly been one of the very best full-backs around for nearly four years now yet plaudits continue to elude him.

Is it the club he plays for? Does his under-stated manner place him under the radar? Whatever the reason, it’s really about time we put that right.

6 - Malo Gusto (Chelsea) 

Like Tete, the 20-year-old arrived in the Premier League from Lyon, with perhaps his ceiling viewed to be that much higher.

This especially applies to his versatility, with Gusto playing as an advanced playmaker at times in France before dropping back to the right side of defence. 

His attacking pedigree has certainly been in evidence at Stamford Bridge in his inaugural season and been duly rewarded too, his first international cap won last September. 

A propensity to pick up cheap yellow cards is the only negative. Cut those out and his future is bright indeed. 

5 - Ben White (Arsenal) 

Reinvented as a full-back after impressing in the middle for Brighton and Leeds, White has played a key part in Arsenal’s dramatic rise in recent seasons.

Offering steady insurance behind the marauding Saka, the 26-year-old is not averse to joining his team-mate in offensive areas, with seven Premier League assists in the last calendar year resulting from his forays forward. 

The Gunners are well fancied in the football betting to secure their first league crown for two decades. If they do, White will deserve as much of the acclaim as is typically given to the headline-makers.

4 - Pedro Porro (Tottenham) 

A key component of Ange’s revolution in North London, the former Sporting star has put to bed doubts about his defensive qualities, statistically out-performing anyone else across Spurs’ back five in 2023/24.

Going the other way there has never been any such concerns, Porro possessing the pace and trickery of a flying winger.

The Spanish international was viewed as an archetypal Antonio Conte player on signing for the club.

He’s now recognised as elite fare regardless of who is standing in the dug-out. 

3 - Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

In recent years, the England international has been on the wrong end of so much criticism for his perceived defensive failings it would not surprise if one day the topic is discussed in the House of Commons. 

Going forward though, there are few better outlets down the right in world football.

An exceptional 82 assists from 302 outings for the Reds is a return even elite wingers would be proud of, while a goal every 17 games is testimony to his attacking prowess.

Is he better deployed in midfield? Over to you, Sunak and Starmer.  

2 - Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)

Now a seasoned veteran, Trippier is an accomplished and robust defender who also brings so much more to proceedings, not least an ability to ping a free-kick top bins a couple of times a season.

Last term, only Bruno Fernandes created more chances in the top-flight while the Newcastle man’s endeavours down the flanks saw him awarded Player of the Match on eight occasions.

This time out fatigue has diminished his contribution somewhat but he has still reached double figures for assists and averaged 2.6 chances for the struggling Magpies. 

1 - Kyle Walker (Manchester City) 

He may be knocking on a bit, and showing signs of wear and tear, but ask any wide-man who they least like to face and without exception all shrink at the thought of trying to beat Walker for pace. 

Yet it is not just blistering speed that makes the 33-year-old the Ivan Drago of full-backs.

Now imbued with a decade and a half of experience, Walker is able to anticipate danger better and quicker than at any stage of his distinguished career.

Handed the captaincy at City, we can expect at least one more year of excellence before his throne is under threat.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*

Probably due to horse racing’s close association with gambling and horse racing odds in general, you often find that its presenters/pundits are either loved or loathed by the viewing public as a whole.

Best Horse Racing Pundits:

• Ruby Walsh

• Katherine Ford

• Stephen Power

• Gary O'Brien

• Rishi Persad

Here are FIVE pundits that we at 888sport believe are worth a listen:

RUBY WALSH

When it comes to National Hunt analysis, Ruby Walsh comes second to none.

After riding 2,756 career winners (59 at the Cheltenham Festival) Ruby now fills his time with a host of media commitments including punditry for Racing TV, the Irish broadcaster RTE and several other outlets. 

Never a fence sitter, Walsh may not have ridden as many winners as his horse racing counterpart Sir AP McCoy, but he certainly beats him on the mic and Ruby Walsh net worth estimates have him rivalling his old foe too.

KATHERINE FORD

Katherine Ford moved to France in 2001 for a three-year stint in the Paris office of the International Racing Bureau.

From there she joined French racing channel Equidia and now heads their international department, a role that took her to some of the world’s more exotic racecourses.

Katherine is now based in Luzarches, France and is currently an on-track reporter at Sky Sports Racing, bringing experience from her previous roles at PMU/Equidia and International Racing Bureau to our screens.

English viewers find her very relatable as she speaks French very well but with a slight Yorkshire tinge.

STEPHEN POWER

Stephen Power – aka the Racing Blogger, is definitely a marmite character when it comes to the world of horseracing punditry.

Having risen from total obscurity to gracing the pages of the Racing Post and amassing several thousand “X” followers due to his content, Stephen carries on undaunted and literally gets where water can’t when it comes to global horse racing meetings.

Stephen’s online profile reads “creator of the best digital media content horseracing has ever seen” and despite having never written a horse racing blog in his life, his interviews with racing greats such as Aidan O’Brien, Willie Mullins, Andre Fabre, have been an unqualified success.

GARY O’BRIEN

Anything you want to know about Irish Horseracing, Gary O’Brien is the man to consult.

O'Brien is a broadcaster and racecourse commentator who, in January 2019, was appointed lead presenter in Ireland for Racing TV.

Gary started out with Irish Racing Services before coming over to the UK to take up a voiceover role with SIS in 2002.

He was part of Attheraces’ on-course team from 2004-2018 and during that time was dubbed "the voice of Ireland".

RISHI PERSAD

Rishi began his racing broadcasting career in 2002 when Attheraces was first launched.

Since then he was worked for Racing TV, Channel 4, and the BBC in a racing capacity and has covered a whole host of events including The Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe, The Grand National, Cheltenham Festival, Derby Festival and Royal Ascot.

The Olympics, Commonwealth Games, tennis, bowls, cricket and golf, Rishi has turned his hand to presenting them all. He’s a great all-rounder.

Other Famous Horse Racing Pundits:

• Nick Luck

• John McCririck

• Lydia Hislop

• Laurent Barbarin

• Angus Loughran

• Leonna Mayor

• Mick Fitzgerald

• Derek Thompson

Of course it’s all unwarranted criticism at the end of the day when all these people are trying to do is go about their daily profession. A little bit more respect for them wouldn’t go amiss.

Here are some of our favourite horse racing presenters/pundits, both past and present:

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*

The Champions League may be prestigious and elite, the very pinnacle of European football, but mismatches still occur. 

Once in a while, a team continues to disprove the Champions League betting and makes it all the way beyond the qualifying rounds to the group stage where the big boys await.

In Estonia they are the reigning champions, the best of their peers. Suddenly, they’re in the Bernabeu, cast as minnows and hopelessly outclassed.

Where possible, we have omitted these occasions when Goliath swatted aside a plucky David.

Instead, we’ve focused on the times when two behemoths have met, with one ruthlessly dismantling the other.

Think the two T-Rexs in Jurassic Park turning on one another, but rather than an almighty scrap ensuing, it is bizarrely one-sided. These are results that shocked a watching continent.  

Humiliating Champions League Defeats:

• Barcelona 2-8 Bayern Munich (2019/20)

• Barcelona 6-1 Paris Saint-Germain (2016/17)

• Bayern Munich 0-4 Real Madrid (2013/14)

• Real Madrid 0 Liverpool 4 (2008/09) 

• Manchester City 7-0 RB Leipzig (2022/23)

• Atletico Madrid 6 Celtic 0 (2023/24) 

• Tottenham Hotspur 2-7 Bayern Munich (2019/20)

• Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid (2022/23)

• Manchester United 7-1 AS Roma (2006/07)

• Liverpool 8-0 Besiktas (2007/08) 

If these results tell us anything, it’s that even at the very highest level expensively assembled teams full of household names can spectacularly collapse.   

So, without further ado, it is time to count down the 10 most embarrassing defeats in Champions League history – do you agree with our football rankings?

Liverpool 8-0 Besiktas 

With a team sprinkled with Turkish internationals, Besiktas had beaten Liverpool in the corresponding fixture just two weeks before, the Brazilian forward Bobo scoring a late winner in Istanbul and giving the Black Eagles every chance of qualifying from Group A.

The visitors therefore presumably arrived at Anfield in good spirits, particularly as they topped Super Lig at the time, as per battling it out with their domestic arch-rivals Galatasaray. 

Rafa Benitez’s Reds however simply blew them away, committing men forward at every opportunity and not giving an overwhelmed opposition time to settle.

The game was all-but-won by the break, Liverpool two goals to the good. The second half was as brutal a demolition this competition has seen.

Ryan Babel scored twice. That alone tells the whole sorry tale. 

Manchester United 7-1 AS Roma

Holding a 2-1 advantage after a very competitive first leg in the Italian capital, Roma headed to Old Trafford in pretty solid form.

They had knocked out Lyon in the round of 16, and looked well-set to reach the last four.

Manchester United, however, had other ideas.

Alex Ferguson’s side mounted a ninety minute assault on the senses, taking a 3-0 lead before the 20-minute mark and adding three more before Roma scored their lone goal in the 69th minute.

The Red Devils were knocked out at the semis by Milan, who went on to beat Liverpool in the final. 

Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid

A three-goal loss to the defending champions isn’t the heaviest defeat we’ve seen in the Champions League, but the manner of it was alarming.

Liverpool and Real had formed a rivalry after Los Blancos defeated Jurgen Klopp’s team in two finals.

The Reds were in the midst of a disappointing season, with the Champions League their best hope of a positive campaign.

In dreamland when Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah put them 2-0 up 14 minutes into the last 16 tie, it all came crumbling down in the matter of a few moments.

Real were level by the 36th minute and were 5-2 up half-an-hour of game-time later. Liverpool’s defence completely fell apart in their biggest match of the season. 

Tottenham 2-7 Bayern Munich

A week is a long time in football. Four months can alter a narrative completely.

On June 1st, Spurs took on Liverpool in the biggest game in their history.

Though admittedly pitched as underdogs in the Champions League final betting, and though ultimately they lost 2-0, it was a statement of the enormous strides the club was making under Mauricio Pochettino. 

They were now one of the prominent players on the continental stage. 

On October 1st, they were subjected to a 7-2 hammering at the hands of Bayern Munich in the group stage. Reality bit, and bit so hard it drew blood. 

Heung-min Son put the Lilywhites ahead 12 minutes in, but Bayern scored four more unanswered prior to Harry Kane’s 61st-minute penalty.

FC Hollywood then netted three in five minutes before the final whistle to wrap up a drubbing.

Former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry finished with four goals, rubbing greater salt into some painful Spurs wounds.

Pochettino was sacked a matter of weeks later. 

Atletico Madrid 6-0 Celtic

Few expected the Hoops to emerge victorious from the Metropolitano. Brendan Rodgers’ men had already lost narrowly to Feyenoord and Lazio, making qualification extremely unlikely.

A draw in the corresponding tie to this one, however, showed that Celtic could match Atletico on any given night. 

Alas, an already formidable task became almost impossible when Antoine Griezmann struck inside five minutes and forlorn hopes were well and truly dashed as early as the 23rd minute when Celtic’s winger Daizen Maeda saw red. 

What followed was one-way traffic, with backs to the wall, and a futile attempt to keep the score respectable.

Few expected the Scottish champions to win in Madrid, but nobody anticipated a side so imperious domestically to implode as they did. 

Manchester City 7-0 RB Leipzig

After a competitive 1-1 draw in the first leg, RB Leipzig must have fancied their chances of an upset as the tie headed to Manchester. What followed was a humiliation for the Bundesliga club. 

Erling Haaland effectively wrapped the tie up for Pep Guardiola’s side with a first-half hat-trick.

The Norwegian added two more after the break. Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne also getting on the scoresheet.

Leipzig were not the first or last team to lose heavily at the Etihad, but such a thumping in a Champions League knockout match is always crushing.

Liverpool 4-0 Real Madrid

For the fifth season running Los Blancos exited the competition at the last 16 stage, on this occasion finding themselves sucker-punched by a late Yossi Benayoun effort at the Bernabeu before heading to Anfield in a bid to atone.

Instead, a glittering array of stars – from Pepe, Cannavaro and Ramos at the back, to Van Nistelrooy, Robben and Higuain up front – succumbed to a storm the likes of which only Liverpool can provide on a ramped-up European evening. 

Unsurprisingly, Steven Gerrard was the hero who made the headlines, twice adding to a Fernando Torres opener, before Andrea Dossena kicked the Galacticos when they were down and out in the final minute. 

Bayern Munich 0-4 Real Madrid

Guardiola is on the other side of a heavy defeat with this one.

The tie was delicately poised after Real Madrid won 1-0 at the Bernabeu in the first leg, but hopes of a thriller for the neutrals were eliminated inside 20 minutes thanks to a brace of set-piece goals from Sergio Ramos.

Cristiano Ronaldo put it beyond all doubt with a counter-attack strike in the 34th minute before a free-kick just before the final whistle.

Guardiola never reached a Champions League final with Bayern despite often being favoured to win the competition.

After this victory in Bavaria, Real got past Atletico in the final to begin another dynastic run. 

Barcelona 6-1 PSG

In a blockbuster last 16 tie PSG headed to Spain comfortably buffered by a 4-0 first-leg win.

Surely, they were finally proving they could compete with Europe’s elite on the biggest stage of them all? Not quite.

Barcelona prepared for the second leg with a 5-0 win over Celta, which proved to be a sign of things to come.

Luis Suarez put the hosts ahead three minutes in, setting them on the right track, but the second goal didn’t come until the 40th minute.

Lionel Messi made it 3-0 with 50 minutes on the clock, but Edinson Cavani got an away goal for PSG which seemed to have blunted Barca’s shot at history. 

PSG imploded after being angered at having a penalty shout turned down. Neymar found the net with a free-kick in the 88th minute, giving the hosts a glimmer of hope.

A penalty for the hosts was converted moments later before Sergi Roberto’s dramatic tie-winning goal five minutes into added time. 

Barcelona 2-8 Bayern Munich

Played behind closed doors in Lisbon, we can only imagine what the atmosphere would have been like had this taken place at a packed Camp Nou.

This quarter-final drubbing was the first time Barcelona had conceded eight goals in a match since 1946.

Remarkably, Barca took an early lead through an early David Alaba own goal. Bayern, though, were 5-1 up with 31 minutes on the clock.

Images of a dejected Lionel Messi are the long-standing memory of this fixture. It was symbolic of how far Barcelona had fallen due to ageing core players and some poor recruitment decisions.

Bayern ultimately won the competition, and Messi left for PSG 12 months later.